Most modern computer software employs a graphical user interface to convey information to and receive commands from users. The graphical user interface relies on a variety of graphical user interface (GUI) elements or objects, including icons, text, drop-down menus, dialog boxes, toolbars, buttons, and the like. A user typically interacts with a graphical user interface by using a pointing device (e.g., a mouse) to position a pointer or cursor over an object and "clicking" on the object. An example of an operating system that provides a graphical user interface is the "WINDOWS 95" operating system, which is manufactured and sold by Microsoft Corporation of Redmond, Wash.
In a system that employs a graphical user interface, icons are used to represent files, folders, and other objects that can be manipulated by the user. In most cases, a user may select a GUI object by clicking on the object, and may open or launch an object by double-clicking on the object. A GUI object may be moved by positioning the pointer over the object, pressing and holding down the mouse button, and moving the pointer. Once the object has been moved to the desired location, the mouse button is released. This direct manipulation technique is known as "dragging and dropping" an object, and may be used to reposition an object, or to invoke a function by dropping the "dragged" object onto the "target" object.
Drop down menus are used to organize numerous computer commands into major headings, which are displayed in a menu bar that appears along the top of a window. Each heading represents a menu that drops down when the user clicks on the heading in the menu bar. This allows access to the commands that are listed in the drop down menu. A user selects a particular command by dragging the pointer down to the command and releasing the mouse button. Drop down menus provide a space-efficient means for organizing and displaying numerous commands.
Toolbars are common GUI elements that provide another effective way to display numerous computer commands. Toolbars provide access to a set of commands that are usually represented by buttons. A user can invoke any command in the toolbar by clicking once on the associated button. Toolbars typically present groups of command buttons in rows or columns. Some toolbars can be turned on or off, and can be oriented horizontally or vertically. Although most toolbars are visually attached to a window, some may float above a window. The primary advantage of toolbars is that they present a set of buttons or commands that are only one click away while the user is using the associated program.
An useful application of a toolbar-type GUI element appears in Microsoft Corporation's "INTERNET EXPLORER" web browser program. In addition to a menu bar, the program provides a toolbar, an address bar, and a links bar. The toolbar provides buttons representing standard commands. The address bar displays the uniform resource locator (URL) of the page that is being viewed, and allows a user to enter the URL of a page that he or she wants to view. The links bar provides a group of buttons that, when clicked, point the browser directly to the URL that is associated with that button. The links bar allows a user to go to these URLs with a single click, instead of having to use a drop down menu (e.g., a "Favorites" menu) or similar control.
In most programs that employ toolbars, the toolbars can be modified by adding or deleting buttons, or by changing the function associated with a button. This allows the user to customize a toolbar so that the toolbar provides convenient access to the commands that are most frequently used by the user. In prior art systems, the process of customizing a toolbar requires the user to select a customize command from one of the menus in the menu bar. A dialog box then appears and displays a list of commands that are available for the toolbar. To add one of these commands to a toolbar, the user drags an object from the dialog box to the desired position on the toolbar. A new button then appears on the toolbar and is bound to the operation identified in the dialog box. In the case of the links bar in the "INTERNET EXPLORER" program, the title and URL associated with a button may be changed by typing the new URL and title in a dialog.
In other prior art systems, some types of GUI objects may be added to a toolbar by dragging the object directly from a window onto a toolbar. This approach is described in U.S. application Ser. No. 08/379,705, entitled, "Method and System for Adding Buttons to a Toolbar," filed Jan. 27, 1995, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,644,739, which is assigned to the assignee of the present invention and which is incorporated herein by reference.
However, the prior art does not provide convenient methods for altering the characteristics of an existing toolbar button by directly interacting with the object itself. Prior art methods require the user to employ a separate dialog box, which provides options associated with the toolbar.
Therefore, there is a need in the art for a system that allows a user to alter one or more characteristics of a GUI object (e.g., a toolbar button) by directly manipulating the GUI object. This would allow a user to quickly and easily alter a toolbar so that it includes the functions that are most useful to the user.